Moonshots
Summary
Stepping into the Cheese Board in Berkeley is a magical experience. After taking a number (represented by a playing card), the customer browses the homemade breads, picks out some bulk butter, or watches the bustle of the bread makers in the open kitchen. The announcement "Ten of Hearts," puts the customer up at the cheese counter, where an expert, informed worker-owner helps either the beginner or expert pick out a selection of cheeses for any occasion. The customer leaves smiling—not only did she just spend less on cheese and bread that she would at most of the other gourmet supermarkets and food shops in the Bay Area, she's had a fabulous experience.
Context
The Cheese Board, opened in 1967, is located in North Berkeley, California, also known as the "gourmet ghetto." The well-known restaurant, Chez Panisse is just down the street, as is a high-end grocery store, Andronico's.
Elizabeth and Sahag Avedisian opened the Cheese Board in 1967. At the time, it was near the Berkeley Consumer Cooperative grocery store and the recently established Peet's coffee. The Avedisian's learned about their business by tasting, trying, and talking to customers. The first employees were friends or customers. In 1971, the Avedisian's sold the business to their employees to form a worker-owned collective. The bread business came about as a natural accident in the 1970s. In 1985, they aded pizza.
The Cheese Board has both created and riffed on a growing appetite for specialty foods and rustic baked goods. The Cheese Board is both a gathering place for locals and a destination for foodies from around the world.
In their cookbook (and/or "management" guide, depending on how you look at it!), The Cheese Board Collective Works, the owner-employees write, "The Cheese Board has little appetite for expanding its own enterprise beyond its borders. We want to promote worker cooperatives, but at the risk of changing our own scale or culture." Several other worker-owned collaboratives have started with the assistance of the Cheese Board.
Source: The Cheese Board Collective, The Cheese Board Collective Works. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2003.
Triggers
"Arising from a deep belief that a more equitable distribution of weath was necessary for a good and just society, and inspired by time spent on an Israeli kibbutz, Elizabeth and Sahag [Avedisian] offered to sell the shop, at cost, to their employees. In 1971, the two owners and six employees formed a worker-owned collective." — The Cheese Board Collective, The Cheese Board Collective Works. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2003.
Key Innovations & Timeline
- 1967 Cheese Board Opens on Vine Street
- 1967 First employees hired
- 1971 Cheese Board sold to employees
- early 1970s Bread added after friends of the store bring by a rustic loaf as a gift
- 1975 moves to larger location on Shattuck Avenue
- late 1970s Baguettes added
- 1985 The recession affects Cheese Board, and worker-owners consider taking pay cut. Pizza had already become a staff lunch. Soon, they start selling pizza to customers—no pay cut required. Pizzeria expands into new store front.
- 1989 Expands into recently-emptied space next door. Worker-owners take pay cut to fund remodel. Berkeley city law allows owners of business to do remodel work, which saves on remodeling costs.
- early 1990s Starts to open three hours earlier to accomodate Morning Bakery
- 1972 Swallow Restaurant Collective opens (runs for two decades)
- 2000? Association of Arizmendi Cooperatives formed
- 2003 Cookbook published
- mid 2000s Pizzeria expands into recently-emptied space next door
Challenges & Solutions
In 1971, California did not have any laws for setting up a worker-owned collective, so the organization had to hire its own lawyer to create a legal entity.
One worker remarked, "Other collective criticized us for being too beorgeois. Being a collective doesn't make you exempt from market forces."
The completely democratic decision-making process meant there was a lot of debate and disorganization. This was welcomed, and the collective was kept small to accommodate it. Expansion results not in a larger Cheese Board, but in new collectives.
New production inovation is still a challenge. Experimentation is not encouraged during work time: One worker, Frieda Dillo, writes in The Cheese Board Collective Works: "Bob made people mad at him by experimenting with sourdough on the shift. He had no support, and people would tell him 'You will never make money with bread.' Then we started doing some accounting and discovered that bread did make money."
Source: The Cheese Board Collective, The Cheese Board Collective Works. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2003.
Benefits & Metrics
- Longevity: 40 years
- # of employees: 40 (collective started with just 5 people)
- Expansion of business into two storefronts on Shattuck avenue (started in a narrow storefront on Vine Street)
- Inspiring other collectives, creation of a network
- Paying worker-owners a living wage
- Supporting live-work balance for worker-owners
- Time spent in meetings: once a month for three hours
- Charlie tells a story in The Cheese Board Collective Works about a friend who estimated the income of the Cheese Board based on a formula for gross income per square foot. "When I told him that we make twice that amount, he was astounded."
Source: The Cheese Board Collective, The Cheese Board Collective Works. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2003.
Lessons
- Become a collective by selling the business to the workers, paying everyone the same wage regardless of seniority
- Rotate some jobs as needed (e.g. ordering, payroll, and bookkeeping)
- Make major decisions democratically. Enable workers to make minor decisions. Focus monthly meetings on operations, quarterly meetings on broader strategic directions
- Focus on customers—heck, hire your customers
- Support creativity, individuality, and personal innovation
- Encourage expression and inclusion, but stay grounded in market realities
- Keep it small—expand by enabling others to reproduce your model through technical and financial support
Credits
Elizabeth and Saha Avedisian
Materials
September 18, 2010 at 9:56am
The Cheese Board is not only an excellent business model, but it is a cornerstone in our community. They are generous with their time and resources and in 2009 Cheese Board was honored by the Berkeley Public Education Foundation for their contributions to our public schools. This isn't just lip service...The Cheese Board is loved by *all.*
- Log in to post comments
You need to register in order to submit a comment.